A Lesson in Love
by Sceagle
Summary: Allison Turner's life is turned upside down when she begins to look into the mystery surrounding one of her students. This leads her to the leverage team. The crazy, eccentric, but amazing team that she soon learns to love.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! This is the first story I have ever written or published, so any thoughts or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated! I also apologize for how short this first chapter is, I promise my next chapters will be longer. Again, thank you.

Legs and heart pounding, Allison raced down a dark alley, running for her life. All of a sudden the noise and spark of a gunshot filled the air. Yelping in fear, she willed her legs to carry her for just a little longer. She could see the light of the street ahead, she just had to make it there and she knew she would be able to find help. Two more gunshots whizzed by her head before she finally made it to the street. The first place she spotted on the street was a bar. Allison slammed into the door before finally getting a grip on the handle. She pulled, but it didn't open! Even though it was one o'clock in the morning she had just assumed that a bar, of all places, would be open. Seeing people inside, she began to frantically pound on the door, tears now streaming down her face.

As the mystery figures began to pop up out of their seats the man who had been chasing her finally caught up. Grabbing her around the waist and putting a gun to her head he started to run with her when the bar door flew open. Turning around her captor began to warn them to stay away so no one had to get hurt, when he suddenly seemed to realize exactly whom he was dealing with. With a hard push in the back, he shoved Allison forward as he ran and jumped in a car parked by the street. As he drove away, her mystery saviors gathered around her and helped her walk into the bar before locking the doors and drawing the blinds.

Once inside, Allison crumpled to the floor in a heap, finally letting all her fear and anger and terror out in huge, shaking sobs. After a minute of being left alone, one of the strangers finally knelt down on the floor and wrapped Allison in a motherly hug. The others still just sat there, stiff. After about another minute of shaking, Allison told herself to snap out of it. These people had just saved her life and she was probably freaking them out now. Letting out deep breaths, Allison began to apologize for the way she was acting.

"Sweetie, you don't need to apologize! I know how traumatic all of this must be for you" the woman who had been hugging her said "but we're here to help you. My name is Sophie and _we_ ," she said while gesturing to the other figures " go by the name of Leverage. We help those who need help by providing them with, well, leverage," she said with a slight smile and a glance at the older man standing by.

Pointing to the oldest man Sophie explained that his name was Nate. Allison could tell just by the way he acted and carried himself that he was the leader. Realizing that she was still on the floor, Allison quickly jumped up and extended her hand to Sophie to help her up. Allison then shook Sophie's hand.

"Again, I apologize, I realized I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Allison Turner."

"It is very nice to meet you Allison" Sophie responded

Walking over to Nate next, Allison shook his hand. Finally turning to the remaining three mysteries in the room. A woman with blonde hair quickly grabbed her hand and with a hard shake introduced herself as Parker. Smiling at how jubilant Parker was Allison believed that they would get along nicely. The next man that shook her hand introduced himself as Alec, but was quickly corrected by his team telling her that he goes by Hardison. With an eye roll, he stepped back. Finally the man that had been standing motionless by the door introduced himself as Elliot, not even making a move to come and shake her hand.

Curiosity overcame her about who Elliot was, but she realized that this was not the time and she had to explain everything. Now. They all gathered around the table, except for Elliot who still stayed by the door, glancing out the window every once in a while. Allison then realized that he was probably the muscle of the team, the protector. Nate poured himself a glass of alcohol and sat down right as Sophie handed Allison a glass of water.

'Well, I don't really know what information I have that will help you, so I will just start from the beginning and tell you everything. Does that sound good?"

"Perfect" Nate responded.

As Allison began her story, the whole team listened with rapt attention. Even Elliot sat down at the table as she began her story.


	2. Chapter 2

_I want to thank Belle Martine for pointing out that I had been spelling 'Eliot' wrong_ _J_

With a long sip of her water, Allison began her story "I teach at a high school as history teacher and I do the best I can to try and connect with every student in my class. As this school year started I tried to do that like always, but for some reason there was one kid I could not make a connection with. He was a very bright student, but every time I tried to talk to him he would avoid eye contact and find an excuse to leave. Finding this odd, I asked his other teachers if he did this with them and they said that he did, but for some reason they were not concerned about it. After more failed attempts at a connection I decided to call his parent and set up a meeting just to make sure that everything was okay with them. When I called the number though, it was out of service. I then found his address in the school records and decided to go by his house. When I arrived at the address it was a sky rise belonging to Avery Tech. Figuring that his parent must work there, I went inside and inquired about them at the front desk. The lady there told me that there were no records of either of their names in her computer. By the way, their names are Amelia and Scott Thomas and their son's name is Brett Thomas. Confused I asked the lady to check for the name Brett Thomas and guess what?"

"What?" Parker practically squealed out

"His name _was_ in there! Even more confused then before I asked her why his name was in the system. All of a sudden her screen started flashing and alarms went off. She became white as a sheet and told me that the information was classified and that I had to get out of there right now. She told me to run, and she told me to find you guys, Leverage."

"Wait, what?" Nate asked, "So you do know about us?"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you earlier I just wasn't really sure how to tell you, or even if it was you guys at first. Also, I didn't really know what you guys did or who any of you are. I just had the name 'Leverage."'

"Okay, so you haven't gotten to the part about why you were being chased her by a man with a gun" Eliot growled out

With a look of slight surprise Allison let out a gasp "Oh, sorry, I will get to that now"

She began again as the rest of the team sent Elliot a glare that was reciprocated by a roll of the eyes.

"Well, I ran outside the building where luckily there was a cab that I could quickly hop into. Once I was in the cab I gave the driver directions to my apartment building. Meanwhile, I was looking for any information about you guys on my phone. Finally, I found the number of one of your clients. I quickly dialed them up and asked them where I could find you. After some interrogation, they gave me your address. By this time I had already been in my apartment for quite a while because it took me forever to find information on you guys. I grabbed my coat and was about to head outside to get a cab when I noticed the figure standing outside my door. Scared, I called the police, but as soon as the man saw the sirens he fled. When the police came to my door I told them that the man had fled. I didn't know if I should tell them about what had happened earlier, so I didn't figuring I was just paranoid and that the man probably wasn't even related to Avery Tech. After the police left, I ran up to my room and locked myself inside. After about an hour or so of debating I decided that I needed to go downstairs to eat something and then try to find you guys. I then made myself a cup of tea, because tea always calms me down. My favorite kind is Irish Breakfast" she began to ramble.

"Allison, sweetie" Sophie cut in "What did you do next'

"Oh yeah sorry" Allison said with a slight blush, which earned another unneeded eye roll from Elliot. "Then all of a sudden the man was back, but this time he was actually inside my house! Before I could even react he put a cloth over my nose, which knocked me out. The next thing I knew, I was laying in the back seat of a car and to my surprise, I wasn't even tied up. Confused, I risked a glance at my driver and it was Brett! I couldn't believe my eyes, but then I realized that the man who had taken me from my house was sitting next to him, a gun pointed directly at him. I knew there was some trouble surrounding this kid, but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined _this_ much trouble. Then I did something that I am not proud of. When they came to a red light I jumped out the door and ran" she said with tears now streaming down her face " and I left him" she screamed out "I left him, I left Brett. It was so selfish of me, but I was so scared! I just hope that he took the opportunity to run too when the other man came after me."

Putting her head down in her lap, Allison finished her story by saying "And then you guys saved me and now we are here. You're all caught up on everything I know"

Resting his hand on her back, Nate began "Thank you, Allison, I know this is hard on you, but now we will be able to help you. We will all get some rest and then take action in the morning. Does that sound good?" He asked, looking at Allison. A nod was her only reply. "Good. Then since I know you can't go home you can just stay here. So can the rest of the team so we can get started on this case as soon as we can in the morning"

Surprised that Nate wanted them all to stay over, but not willing to question him they all headed upstairs.

Laying out some sheets and blankets the team began to find places to sleep. Nate took his room, of course, which to the surprise of everyone, Sophie asked if she could sleep with him and to even greater surprise he said she could, but only because his bed is the most comfortable and he knows how her back has been hurting her. Nate then told Allison that she could take the guest room and that the others cold fight for the couch down here. Once Nate and Sophie were upstairs, though Allison told them that she didn't want to sleep in the guest room and that someone could use it. Jumping up Parker exclaimed that she would love to.

"Girl," Hardison began "that is not cool! She is our guest and she is just saying that to be polite. Allison, take the room."

"No really, its fine, Parker should have it"

"Thank you, Allison" Parker responded " Now come on Hardison you can sleep in there too."

"What" Hardison asked in shock

"Don't get the wrong idea, buddy," Parker laughed "Were both keeping all of our clothes on"

After they ran upstairs, it was just Eliot and Allison left in the room.

"You can take the couch," Eliot said

Just as Allison opened her mouth to argue, Eliot repeated himself " I said you can take the couch, and I won't take no for an answer." He then grabbed a blanket and curled up on the chair.

Unknown to the two down stair, Parker and Hardison were having their own conversation upstairs.

"So why did you really make me come up here and sleep in the guest room with you?"

"Well, I knew I wouldn't be able to get Allison and Eliot up here together, so having them both be downstairs was the second best option"

With eyes widening in surprise Hardison asked "But why do you want them to be alone together?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Parker scoffed "I know nothing about romance, but even I could tell that Allison is crushing on Eliot, and besides don't you think she could be good for Eliot too? She seems like a great girl. I think they could balance each other out. Don't you?"

"Sophie gave you this idea, didn't she?"

"Yes," Parker said with a resigned sigh "but I do think that they could be good for each other."

"Wow, Parker! Way to get deep there. I mean they just met, but I do see what you're saying, just don't force it okay? We'll see how this case goes and let them make their own decisions. Can we just get some sleep now?"

"Fine, but I call the bed! You get the floor."

With a sigh of resignation, Hardison grabbed a blanket and laid down on the floor, all the while mumbling about people trying to control other people's lives.


	3. Chapter 3

With a cry that pierced through the still night air, Allison sat up in tears, only to be joined a second later by Eliot, to her surprise. As he sat down on the couch she wasted no time on sliding into his lap and holding onto him. Stiff at first, Eliot gradually relaxed as he made soothing noises and rubbed her back. When she finally stopped crying, Eliot told her to wait here and that he was going to make her a cup of tea.

Stunned that her remembered Allison waited for him to return in silence after taking her first steaming sip, Allison began "I can't believe I have been crying this much! You must think I'm a total wimp, but…" she faltered, unsure of whether or not to go on "there is one thing I haven't been completely honest about. I was told never to say anything about this, but after thinking about I don't think Brett would have wanted me to keep this from you."

Now slightly worried, Eliot cocked his head and signaled for her to go on.

"Well, you know how I told you that I never made a connection with him? That wasn't completely true. One day he came to school with a black eye. He told everyone that he had accidentally tripped and fell, but for some reason I didn't believe him. I kept him after class and asked him about it. He then said 'You're right, I didn't just fall', but at that moment a man appeared at the door. He looked terrified! He then told me to forget this conversation and to never say anything to anyone, especially not anything about the man that he knew I had seen. I asked him why, but he said that he couldn't explain now, I just had to trust him and act normally if I wanted him and myself to live. I know I should have told you all sooner, but things have just been so crazy and scary and for some reason, some part of me wanted to give Brett at least that much respect after what I did to him. After I left him, maybe for dead if they found out" she ended, the terror evident in her eyes.

"You need to calm down, Allison" Eliot said in a surprisingly soft voice. "Everything is going to be okay. I'll go get Nate and you can get him up to speed."

"No! Please don't leave me alone right now!" Suddenly Allison's tone shifted, becoming much quieter "Please just hold me for a little longer?"

"Of course" he responded as they both lay down on the couch together, Allison wrapped in Eliot's arms.

Woken up by whispering, Allison attempted to jump off the couch as she was startled by four faces in front of her. Unfortunately for her, Eliot still had his arms wrapped around her, which caused them both to fall into a heap on the ground. With a slight giggle, Allison apologized to Eliot while he helped her up. Once they had both righted themselves, Parker asked

"So, what were you two doing?" with a suggestive waggle of her eyebrows.

"Nothing!" Eliot and Allison responded at the same time. "I just had a bad dream last night and Eliot was comforting me and I told him something that I also need to tell the rest of you this morning, something I wasn't entirely true about. After that he said he was going to go get Nate, but I was afraid and didn't want to be alone. I asked him to stay, and he graciously did."

"Okay" Parker said, but still didn't wipe her smug smile off her face.

"So what is this that you haven't told us?" Nate asked

Allison then recounted her story to the rest of the crew who listened in amazement. After her story, Allison realized that she hadn't cried at any part of the re-telling. Proud that she was finally getting control of her emotions, she let herself have a small smile.

"Okay" Nate said "Well that man might be a solid lead for us so I'm going to have you try and describe him in the best detail you can and see if Hardison can find anything"

"Sounds good. He had dark hair. I think black, but he was in the shadows so it could have been a dark brown. He looked to be about his late thirties and very hardened, no kindness in his eyes. Oh his eyes! They were a piercing blue that stood out because of his dark hair and completion."

"Okay, that's good enough for now. I'm going to pull up some images of people that match your description and have been known to be in the area."

After a few more minutes while the team sat in silence, Hardison finally had three pictures. Showing them to Allison, he asked if any of the men looked familiar.

"Yes! That's him! The one in the middle; I would recognize that face anywhere."

"Perfect, so I will run some background checks on this guy, but it might take a while so how about someone makes us some breakfast?" Hardison asked with a glance over to Elliot.

"Fine" Eliot mumbled as he got up and headed into the kitchen.

"I'll go help him," Allison offered before standing up herself. "Hey Eliot, do you need any help?"

"Nah, I'm good"

"No really, I would love to help you. Just let me know what to do"

With a slight smile and a roll of his eyes Eliot said, "alright, come on over here"

"Great, but I think I should forewarn you that I am probably one of the worst cooks on the planet. I have been trying to get better though! Maybe you will be the teacher that helps me to finally master the skill of cooking" she finished with a grin.

After about a half an hour in the kitchen, the two cooked up a breakfast that exceeded Allison's standards and just met Eliot's. Calling the rest of the crew into the kitchen, they sat down together, for the moment only laughing and exchanging small talk. Everything felt normal, comfortable, safe.


End file.
